Louisiana lawmakers pass a congressional map to dismantle a majority-Black district

Louisiana Republicans in the legislature approved a new congressional map ahead of the midterms, aiming to gain one seat in the race to control the House. The map change followed a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which had previously supported protections against vote dilution. After the ruling, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry delayed House primary elections scheduled for May 16 so lawmakers could redraw district lines before early voting began. The rescheduled primaries are set for Nov. 3. The new map dismantles a majority-Black district that ran from Baton Rouge to Shreveport and was created after a 2022 lawsuit found Black voting power was diluted by the lack of a second majority-Black district. The Supreme Court decision limited Section 2 to cases involving discriminatory intent.

"Louisiana lawmakers raced to eliminate one of two majority-Black congressional seats in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the current map unconstitutional in a sweeping decision last month that severely weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Following that ruling, and just days before early voting was set to begin and with tens of thousands of voters having already returned mail ballots, Republican Gov. Jeff Landry pushed to delay the House primary elections scheduled for May 16, allowing the legislature to redraw the map. The rescheduled primaries are now set for Nov. 3."

"The new map dismantles a majority-Black district that zigzagged from Baton Rouge to Shreveport, and was created as a result of a 2022 lawsuit. That case argued that Louisiana lawmakers illegally diluted Black voting power by failing to draw a second majority-Black district in a state where Black voters account for roughly one third of the population. A court agreed, and Louisiana legislators passed the current map. That map was then challenged in the case that ultimately reached the U.S. Supreme Court."

"The justices ruled that Section 2 of the VRA only protects against political lines drawn with the intent of discriminating on the basis of race. "The best way to end race-based discrimination is to stop making decisions based on race," Landry wrote in the executive order delaying the House primaries. Some Republicans pressed lawmakers to draw a map that would give the GOP the advantage in all six of Louisiana's congressional districts."

"Legislators opted to eliminate only one of the majority-Black districts held by Democrats, fearing that going further could make other districts held by Republican incumbents like House Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise too competiti"

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